Linkers

Each student gets a sticky note and writes her/his name and draws a picture of her/his own face or something they enjoy or relate to. Students are then asked to stick them anywhere on a wall/poster/glass board/whiteboard (keep in mind that they're going to draw on that later on, and it might get a bit messy). Students are then asked: "where do you know each other from?" - this could be a nice starting point because they probably know one another only from school or their neighbourhood - obvious places. The teacher asks "how well do you know each other?". The point of this activity is to help them find things in common (likes, dislikes, places they have been to, common friends and relatives, favourites, etc) that they would never think of asking their peers. The teacher then models the activity with one student by asking about favourite bands, movies, books, until the pair finds one thing that they both share. A line then is drawn between the sticky notes, linking them together. Above the line, they write that connects them (e.g. "Harry Potter"). All students are given markers, get up and mingle. The point of this activity is to make students talk to and link as many peers as possible.